


Heal the Mind and the Body Will Follow

by weepingnaiad



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Community: cottoncandy_bingo, Family, Healing, M/M, Spring Fling, Star Trek: Into Darkness, Star Trek: Into Darkness Spoilers, cotton candy bingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-19
Updated: 2013-06-19
Packaged: 2017-12-15 11:01:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/848764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weepingnaiad/pseuds/weepingnaiad
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><b>Summary:</b> <a>Major STID spoiler here.  Seriously, don't hover if you don't want to be spoiled, but then you probably wouldn't want to read this, either.</a> </p>
            </blockquote>





	Heal the Mind and the Body Will Follow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Caera1996](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caera1996/gifts).



> **Beta:** As ever, my brain twin, and soul sister, abigail89, wrangled my words into something readable and coherent, and all at the final hour. I will never be able to convey my gratitude, bb. But, of course, I fiddle even after posting, so any mistakes are all on me.
> 
>  **A/N:** This is my fill for LJ comm, McCoy_and_Kirk's Spring Fling exchange. This story was written for Caera1996. Her request was for family life and a happy story with a bit of hurt/comfort. I tried to manage those things and even get in one of her actual prompts at the very end. This story allowed me to deal with some of my issues from STID, so for that I thank you very much! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. This really did help get my muses back on track.
> 
>  **A/N 2:** This is also a fill for the Cotton Candy Bingo square: _Extended Family._
> 
>  **Disclaimer:** These are Paramount and Roddenberry's characters used in the spirit of creative commons. I promise to return them with smiles on.

With the recycled hospital air and the cloying, intense fear behind him, Leo could breathe easier than he had in what felt like ages. It was still a fretful Leo that ran his hands over Jim's arms, obsessively checking his pulse as his patient dozed during their shuttle ride to Georgia. He knew Jim was healing and would recover, but it would take more than a hectic couple of weeks for that knowledge to seep into Leo's marrow where he could believe it without verification.

Leo should have expected that his nan would almost literally take Jim off his hands. She took one look at Leo and shooed him away, taking his position at Jim's side. Her physician's training did not betray her and she gave no indication that she was surprised at Jim's state when she looked at him. Leo did notice that small furrow in her brow and a slight stutter in her breathing before she caught herself and turned a placid, loving smile to him.

After giving him a fierce hug, she chided him gently. "Go on, Leo. Get yourself upstairs. Minnie's got your suite set up, bath already waiting. And dinner will be sent up as soon as you're clean."

"But--" he tried to protest.

She crossed her arms over her chest and her eyes went steely. "You listen to me, Leonard Horatio McCoy. If you think I can't see the toll this ordeal has taken on you, you must think I'm blind as well as a doddering old fool. Now, you're here for Jim, but you're _here_ because you need to recuperate, too. I'll not stand for any argument on that point. This is my home and my rules. And my first rule is that McCoy men are not allowed to work themselves into an early grave."

Leo swallowed. There was really nothing he could do or say. He could try to claim physician privilege, but that wouldn't fly for long. His nan might be retired, but she was still sharp as a tack and had likely forgotten more about caring for radiation sick patients than Leo had yet learned. He'd made Jim's complete records available to her so he really couldn't argue with his own plans being thrown back in his face. Besides, he'd be more than a hypocrite if he tried. She'd raised him not to be an ass, even if he was one quite often. He took his duffle and kissed her on the cheek, offering a meek, "Yes'm," before turning tail and taking the stairs two at a time.

His steps ground to a halt when he stepped into his old room. It'd been redecorated, but it was still _his,_ and that set off a chain reaction of emotions that left him shaking and raw. He stumbled into the bathroom and hastily stripped off his clothes; he immediately stepped into the large tub and sank down into it as his chest stuttered and heaved.

The last month's events, Jim's "death", the staggering loss of life, everything that had happened came crashing down, burying Leo in an avalanche he could no longer contain. Great heaving sobs ripped from his throat as his restraint imploded. He shuddered and wailed, gnashed his teeth and gripped the sides of the tub in a white-knuckled bid to keep from clawing at his face and hair. They'd lost crew, civilians, friends, enemies -- the totality of the destruction less than Vulcan, but still great and pointedly personal. Starfleet had been the target and they'd paid for Marcus' hubris, his paranoia, his conceit; their losses painful, but none so much as the loss of Admiral Pike, a truly good man, partner to Leo's mentor, and, honestly, someone Leo considered a friend. On top of all of that Leo had nearly lost Jim, but the tech -- _the miracle_ \-- that saved him was a double-edged sword, an ethical nightmare that kept Leo awake at night. There were no happy endings here and Leo didn't know what to do with the white-hot fury that replaced the aching sorrow when it fled, bled out by tears and snot, the grief leaving him wrung dry, while the swelling anger made him flash hot and wild.

Instead of eating or sleeping, Leo dressed in old clothes still hanging in the closet; the jeans a little loose, the shirt a little tight across the shoulders, but his well-worn riding boots still fit perfectly. Then he fled to the barn, saddled Ajax and rode until nearly sunset. He was grateful for the stallion's strength and steady temper because Leo rode as though the hounds of hell were chasing him. Only when he crested Blackberry Hill and paused to stare down at the family lands spread beneath him could he actually breathe without gasping, the air wheezing from his lungs as he fought to contain his rioting emotions. His nan was right. Leo needed this retreat just as much as Jim did.

~~*~~

A weary Leo dragged himself into the house, his head and shoulders dropping as he stepped gingerly from the mudroom into the kitchen. He had hoped to snatch a bite to eat and then steal away to his room to hide himself under the covers and away from the conversation he didn't want to have. But he should have known that was an impossible dream here of all places.

His nan speared him with a look and he moved to the large, farmhouse table and took a seat. Before he could say a word, Minnie placed a plate down in front of him, a cold glass of sweet tea joining it. Leo reached for the drink, his nan's snort halting his hand. "Have you forgotten the manners I taught you, boy?"

Leo flushed, then glanced up at Minnie, saying, "Sorry, ma'am. Forgot myself. Thank you. It smells delicious."

Minnie gave him a warm smile which lit up her care-worn face, making her look years younger. Bright, amber eyes sparkled at him as she shrugged, forgiving him every trespass as always. "There's no shame in forgetting yourself after all y'all have been through, Mister Leo. Just don't forget that you'll need your strength. Ms. Eleanor has a list of chores for you a mile long."

She patted his shoulders, then gave them a reassuring squeeze. "We're glad you're home. Now eat up."

Minnie took Nan's hand before she left, chiding softly, "Don't be too hard on the boy. He's been through more'n either of us can imagine."

His nan squeezed Minnie's hand, releasing it with a fond smile. "I'll save the scolding for the morrow. I promise." She waved Minnie off. "Now you git along. You know you'll be up at dawn baking for these boys and it doesn't do your back any good if you're not well rested."

Leo ate and drank, the simple roast and potatoes filling more than the gnawing in his stomach. He was home, nothing made that more clear than the obvious affection between his nan and Minnie. He'd missed their uncomplicated partnership without knowing he was. He'd never questioned Minnie's presence in their lives. She'd been with his nan since before Leo's dad had been born, and from day one she'd provided a grounding stability, a calming balm to the volatile McCoy-Brantley household. Minnie supported his nan, helping her run a substantial home and raising a son all while she kept up her thriving clinic. When Leo's granddad had passed, Minnie was the one propping up his nan, keeping the household and estate together while she and Leo mourned.

And when David McCoy returned to the estate a month after Horatio's funeral with a young bride on his arm and a new-found determination to be the patriarch of the family, Minnie'd been there to soothe Leo's ruffled feathers. But seeing his dad with another woman besides Lizzie Elliott-McCoy had sent Leo into a tailspin, fueling the worst rebellion of his life. And Minnie had been there, quietly listening to him rant and rail. She'd even bailed him out of the county lock-up with her own money when his anger got out of hand and Leo had been foolish enough take on the Sutter twins, both football linemen and each at least half a foot taller and wider than Leo.

With a soft touch on his forearm, Leo was pulled from his musing. "Leo, baby?" she called gently.

"Nan," he answered with a hazy smile. He was still a little lost in the memories, still caught up in the sheer weight of history.

"You looked a trillion miles away," she said.

"Just remembering," he answered. "Thinking 'bout Minnie... and you."

Nan snorted then. "You always were a little hot-headed and over protective of us." She knew instantly where his thoughts had gone. "You didn't care for Samantha, and David assumed Minnie was replacing his dad. That was a recipe for a confrontation that nothing and no one could have stopped."

"I'm still sorry. Wish I'd handled it better."

"You were barely sixteen, honey. It weren't your place to be the mature one. David was always running from a fight, from the hard decisions. Couldn't confront Tio to save his soul. And you'd rightfully had enough. We all had."

Leo shrugged. "I shouldn't have punched him when he accused--"

"Leo." Her voice was firm, tone instantly silencing him. His nan never needed to shout to be heard. "Tio was a hard man to live with. Had all your prickliness with none of your empathy -- always thought that was Min rubbing off on you. He and David fought from the moment that boy could talk. But David, despite appearances, _was_ all McCoy -- stubborn, cussed pride, and too damned smart -- he had guilt by the barrel-full for not being here when Tio passed, not to mention _you._ That guilt never left him. And Tio never let him forget that he ran out and left us to raise you. So David saw Minnie's devotion and made it out to be something twisted. That she was a gold digger or usurper, using some alien voodoo to bamboozle me. He messed up, he did. But did you know he apologized to Minnie? He begged for her forgiveness when he never needed to."

"Huh," Leo huffed. This was all news to him and might have helped a few years ago, when he was dealing with his own guilt after his father died.

"Leo, hon, I was married to a McCoy, raised two McCoy men. Do you honestly think there's a word that comes out of your mouth that surprises me or Minnie?"

"You both were always mighty unflappable with all the things that I got up to."

His nan got a wistful smile on her face. "Only time I ever saw her cry was when you left here for Starfleet." She sighed. "Couldn't have done any of this," she said as she waved her arm around the room, "I couldn't have kept up this place, raising the lot of you, and kept the clinic without her. So if we're closer than David thought proper, it was none of his business and I told him so. But I'm not ashamed, Leo. Never was and never will be."

She shook herself, then patted his cheek. "And look at me. Rambling on like some tired old biddy into her cups." She stood and cleared Leo's plate. "I missed you, baby. But this was never the way I wanted to get to see you again. It pains me to see you so heartsick and broken. And that young man of yours has got a long road to recovery. He's going to need you healed up and strong if he's going to get better."

She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the counter. "If you don't take care of yourself, it won't just be me and Minnie you have on your tail. I'll set Jocelyn on you so fast, it'll make your head spin."

Leo's heart gave a painful jolt. "Joce?" was all he could get out past the tangle of emotions curling in his gut.

Nan snorted. "She was married to a McCoy. You think we haven't traded war stories?"

Leo flushed and ducked his eyes. It'd been over four years since he'd last spoken to Jocelyn. That was a whole universe of issues he wanted to avoid right there. But his nan knew that. She knew everything, especially how to turn him into that small, confused boy who'd just lost his mom and had suddenly found himself without his father all within a span of a few weeks. Some things you never quite grow out of.

Nan rested her palms on his shoulders and kissed the top of his head. "I won't call Joce. But you should. Get some closure there and get your best friend back where she belongs, you hear me?"

Tugging him up, she pushed him toward the door. "For now, get yourself some sleep."

Leo's steps halted. "But... Jim," he began.

"Nope. I've got him. Took a nice, long nap so I could monitor him. He'll need someone nearby until he gets his bearings and that's gonna be me and Minnie."

"But--" Leo tried to protest.

"Baby, I've got this. _We've_ got this. Your job right now is to heal up. Something tells me that James T. Kirk is not going to be an easy patient once he's even a tad better. And you're going to need all your strength for dealing with him."

Leo snorted. "That is an understatement." But he smiled. For the first time in over a month, the tension in his shoulders let up and the stiffness in his spine abated. This was exactly why he'd come home.

He kissed his nan and took himself to bed.

~~*~~

The next week passed by in a blur. His nan might have wanted him rested up to take care of Jim, but he hardly saw him, what with all the chores she'd had for him -- and Minnie hadn't been exaggerating about the size of his to-do list. Then there were neighbors, old friends, even high school acquaintances; a whole host of people dropping by to check on Leo ( _to see a Starfleet hero_ , Leo often thought to himself) and ask how long he was staying. He had a host of invites to parties and teas and didn't begin to know what to do with himself, so he begged off on all but the few he couldn't refuse and threw himself into repairs and painting and brush-clearing and a mile-long list of mindless, physical activity that healed his psyche as much as the fresh air and hard work healed his body.

He wasn't avoiding Jim, but the kid was sleeping so much and Minnie and Nan were hovering, so Leo saw him rarely when he was awake. But he was getting stronger day by day and Leo wasn't the one helping him get there.

Leo toed off his work boots in the mudroom and stepped into the kitchen to get a much-needed drink. There was a pitcher of fresh-squeezed raspberry lemonade cooling on the counter and Leo couldn't resist. He poured himself a glass and leaned against the sink, drinking the first glass in one go. He poured himself another and then stilled, the glass at his lips, when he heard Jim's voice.

He glanced around and realized that all the windows were open and Jim's voice had drifted in from the side porch where he was chatting quietly with Nan.

The kid was still weak, his voice raspy as he said, "That's delicious, Ms. McCoy. What is it?" He was all politeness, manners and that hint of little boy shyness that was so damned endearing no one could resist it. Not even his nan, if the fondness in her tone was any indication.

"Don't mean to tell me you never had homemade raspberry lemonade up in Iowa, Jim?"

There was a metallic screech and then a wooden creak and Leo knew they were sitting on the porch swing. From the sounds of it, that was another thing he'd need to repair.

"Can't remember, if I did, ma'am," Jim replied.

"Well, then I suspect there will be a lot more treats in store for you," she said. He heard Jim give a soft chuckle and then his nan said, "You're nothing but skin and bones. Got to get you fattened up or my reputation will go to hell."

"Dying takes it out of you, I guess," Jim said, matter of fact and so casual. It made Leo's breath catch in his throat. He hadn't forgotten what had happened, would never _be_ able to forget, but he'd been pretty successful with compartmentalizing, with shoving that nightmare into a little corner of his mind that he didn't deal with regularly, or at all.

But Nan and Jim were still talking as though Jim's little joke was nothing.

"I think I'd like that," Jim replied to something Leo missed. Then he asked, his voice tentative and rusty, "Is Bones still so angry with me?"

"Oh, hon," his nan began. "Leo's furious. With you, with himself, with everything. He doesn't think he is. He _believes_ he's being objective and calm, but I live with an empath, part Betazoid. And there's no way that Leo's dealt with any of his emotions surrounding this entire mess."

"Is that why he's avoiding me?"

There was the sound of cloth rustling and then the swing creaked, starting up again as his nan spoke. "He's not. Or he tells himself he's not. And I gave him plenty to keep him busy so he had an excuse."

"An excuse? But why?"

"Jim." Leo heard the protective tenor in his nan's voice, heard her valid concern for them both in every syllable. "You _died._ I can't begin to tell you what my Leo went through thinking he'd lost you, but he's not been shy telling me just how he felt when he learned you'd explicitly ordered your crewman to not make the call. My Tio, he was in the 'fleet 'til he decided he'd had enough of following orders, so I know a thing or two about command structure and that was a horrible order you gave. It was unfair to your crewman and, worse, you wronged your lover with it."

Jim sighed, but kept silent, surprising Leo.

"Jim, he's angry. He has a right to be. But, for as stubborn as he is, as much McCoy as there is in him, he's also a Brantley and we forgive and forget. And he will, too. Just give him time. 'Bout the best thing you can do is get better."

"And that means listening to you and Minnie," Jim said, his voice turning petulant.

"Exactly!" Nan said, with a smile in her voice. "How about if I fix you a plate?"

"I couldn't eat again--"

"Jim, it's past lunch time and you haven't eaten since breakfast," Nan chided. Then she added, her voice going sly. "I'll let you have a slice of strawberry-rhubarb pie, if you eat some chicken and potato salad. No slaw."

"Is that the fried chicken from dinner last night?" Jim's voice perked up.

"It is."

Leo could hear the swing protest as Jim stood. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

Nan laughed and Leo was caught between fleeing and staying. He dithered too long and was still holding a half-empty glass of lemonade when Jim and his nan stepped into the kitchen.

~~*~~

Jim was leaning on Nan, but not heavily. His eyes were bright again and he was smiling fondly at the woman holding him up. The clothes hung off his frame and his hair was nothing more than pale blond fuzz covering his head. He looked simultaneously older, gaunt, still tired, and yet almost boyish, the genuine smile on his face lit his features and made Leo's heart race.

"Bones?" Jim stopped, his eyes going wide.

"Goddammit, man. Sit down before you fall down," Leo commanded, bustling around the table to pull out a chair and help Jim into it.

"I _can_ walk, you know," Jim said, voice gone quiet in the stilted air.

Leo just hung there, awkwardly hovering, unable to move.

"Boys," Nan huffed and they both looked up at her. "Jim's fine, Leo. But fetch him some more lemonade while I make him a plate."

When Leo stood frozen, Nan just cocked her head and cleared her throat. "Today, Leo."

Leo hopped up and Jim chuckled, their fingers sliding past as Leo darted to do his nan's bidding.

When two plates and more lemonade and pie had been set down in front of them, Nan leaned over and kissed Leo on the forehead. "Behave," she warned, her voice for his ears only.

When she kissed Jim on the forehead, making him blush, she merely said, "Eat up so you can have that slice of pie waiting for you."

Then she left them alone and the silence grew awkward once again.

Leo was hungry so he dug in. Rebuilding fencing would do that to a man and eating kept his foot out of his mouth.

Jim ate, nibbled was more the way Leo thought of it. And he watched too avidly, calculated caloric intake and considered Jim's metabolism, coming to the conclusion that he'd never regain his former muscle mass eating like that.

"Bones!" Jim's harsh call jerked Leo back from the spiral of his thoughts. "Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Don't over-analyze every little thing. It's like you don't even need a tricorder to monitor me. But I need you to not do that. Just trust your nan on this one. I _am_ better and getting stronger every day," Jim said, his blue eyes glaring at Leo.

Leo snorted. "I'm the doctor here and I'll decide--"

"Your nan's a doctor, too. And she said--"

"My nan is retired!"

"Are you saying her opinion isn't valid?"

"Dammit, Jim! That's not--"

"Bones," Jim interrupted again, his voice so soft that it instantly silenced Leo. "Bones," he repeated, his hand reaching for Leo's. They tangled their fingers together and Leo sighed. "I'm sorry. And I'll keep being sorry and I'll keep saying it, or do whatever you want... just look at me. Please?" Jim's voice was pleading and Leo lifted his eyes from their interwoven fingers and met Jim's gaze. "You haven't really looked at me since I woke up."

"I look at you all the damn time, kid. I couldn't do my job--"

"No, Bones. You look at a patient. You look at the charts, the numbers. Even now you were sitting there not seeing me eating Minnie's cold fried chicken at your nan's farmhouse table. All you saw were numbers and more numbers. Numbers that aren't adding up." Jim frowned. "Numbers that might never add up again, Bones."

Leo closed his eyes and bit back curses as his eyes pricked. He'd been so caught up in his own righteous anger that he'd forgotten that Jim had to confront the lengthy healing process and the very real possibility that he might never fully recover. Who knew what the hell Khan's blood would really do to him?

He levered himself to his knees beside Jim's chair and reached for Jim's hands, pulling one down so he could brush his lips over Jim's knuckles. Even his hands clearly showed the ravages he'd endured; the skin papery and dry, stretched taut over brittle bone. "Jim, darlin', I'm sorry. Forgive me for being an ass?"

Jim snorted, but he curled his fingers over Leo's. "If I never forgave you for being an ass, we'd be constantly fighting."

Even if there was truth to his words, Leo growled, but had a smile on his face. "I'm trying, kid. I just... it'll take some time before I don't see that bag behind my eyelids every time I close them."

Jim went silent again. For the first time since Leo had known him, there was a subject that could subdue Jim into silence. Sadly, it wasn't the kind of thing that Leo could crow about.

Leo took a deep breath and released it. "I know why you didn't call me. I understand... logically. I-I don't get it in my heart, not yet. I might not ever, but I do forgive you. And I plan to move past it."

That was Jim's cue to give a rueful bark.

"What?" Leo asked, affronted. "I said I was working on it. And I don't carry a grudge."

Jim chuckled. "You are _the worst_ about holding grudges, Bones! You'll bring this up twenty _years_ from now. I fully expect to never hear the end of it." Jim tugged Leo to stand. "But, that's okay. I knew what a cantankerous, grumpy old man you were when I met you and I wouldn't change a thing."

And if Leo's heart fluttered at the careless declaration that there would still be a _them_ twenty years from now, he wasn't telling, especially because Jim tugged him down and kissed him. His lips were papery and a bit dry, but the kiss was still perfect, even if it was far too tentative.

Leo moaned, graced Jim with his vocal appreciation for more than the kiss, for the non-subtle reminder that Leo still had Jim to argue and fuss with.

When Leo pulled back, Jim looked healthier than he'd seen him; eyes glittering, lips pink and kiss-bruised, and he wore a healthy flush. "Kissing agrees with you, darlin'."

Jim shook his head. "You are still a grumpy old man, but you can make it up to me with kisses."

Leo sat back down, his grin splitting his face. "My pleasure, darlin'."

Jim waved the chicken leg he was nibbling on toward the pie plate. "So, how about you dish up some of that pie... and top it with some of that homemade whipped cream of Minnie's?"

Leo glanced at Jim's plate, but kept the look as brief as possible. Jim hadn't finished everything, but he had made a dent in the food, enough that he deserved dessert. It didn't cost Leo anything to indulge Jim. So he did.

If he spent most of the rest of the meal simply savoring the quiet snippets of conversation while he gazed at Jim, then that was fine, too.

~~*~~

Nan kept Leo no less busy than before, but Leo still found himself sitting at Jim's side more often than not, joining in and laughing despite the flush suffusing his cheeks when his nan shared old holos. Jim's laughter was more reward than all the accolades he'd received over the years. And he couldn't keep the silly grin off his face, which only made Nan and Minnie quietly mock him while Jim napped.

It was the most peaceful, restful time Leo'd had in years.

He even took his nan's advice and called Jocelyn. Their lunch started out stilted and awkward, but after a pitcher of mint juleps and the finest steaks the club had, they were both giggling like the loons they had once been together. The hug and kiss on his cheek that Jocelyn gave him finally pulverized that last stone lodged in the corner of his gut for these past years.

"Call me, Leo," she'd ordered as he'd helped her into the hovercab.

He nodded and reached for the door, the movement stopped by Jocelyn's hand covering his. "When Jim's better, I'd love to meet him," she said, her voice soft and tentative.

Leo swallowed, blinked back tears. He'd missed Jocelyn, dammit. "I'll bring him over. I promise."

"Good," she nodded. "Thank you for lunch, Leo."

"Thanks for giving me another chance, Joce."

She gave him that bright-eyed, mischievous grin that had challenged him on his first day at his new school. He'd been half in love with her from the moment she whipped his ass that day in the fifth grade. "Always," she said.

He stepped away and let the door close, waving as she zoomed away.

~~*~~

After three months of living in an idyllic version of his childhood, Jim was noticeably stronger and definitely beginning to get ants in his pants. But Leo had more than Nan and Minnie to keep Jim distracted and away from Starfleet. He'd never rat Scotty out, but the engineer had been invaluable in keeping Jim off the grid and unable to be located by anyone, even Spock, though Leo had consented to chat with Uhura a time or two.

He might not understand her devotion to the hobgoblin, but Leo thought the world of Nyota and loved listening to her tales of New Vulcan. Nyota was a braver soul than Leo ever could be considering the hoops she was willing to jump through for Spock.

"What's with that smirk?" Jim asked as he came striding into the room, his gait no longer slow and uneven; he loped instead of walked and was gaining muscle daily, even if he was far too thin to Leo's appraising eye. Still, he looked hale and whole, was tanned a pale gold from his time spent watching Leo work or the short, easy rides they'd started taking. The cropped fuzz on his head was burnished a pale gold, nearly white, and somehow it was as becoming as his thick, golden locks had ever been, surprising Leo with the rush of lust that coursed through him when Jim gave him a dirty once-over.

They hadn't yet managed much intimacy since Jim's plumbing was slow to recover, but none of that mattered when Leo could hold Jim tucked underneath his chin and listen to him breathe slow and even all night long.

Leo chuckled when Jim began to pout since he hadn't answered him right away. But he didn't have it in him to tease Jim for very long. The kid had been a pretty good patient according to Nan and now that he was mobile and getting more active, he'd been an amazing companion, one whose presence made the work go easier than ever. And not for the first time Leo wondered if they should maybe give it all up, leave the stars behind.

But Jim was in his face, nudging him with an elbow, his plaintive, "Bones!" impossible to resist.

Leo wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him down to the sofa beside Leo. "Hey, darlin'," he said as he nuzzled Jim's neck. "You smell like mint and honeysuckle. Mmmmmmm," he hummed.

"Bo-oooones, that's not an answer," Jim cried.

"Sorry, darlin'. Just got off the comm with Nyota."

"Nyota?" Jim asked, looking as eager as a puppy. "What're she and Spock up to? And what about the rest of the crew? Scotty? Sulu? Carol? How come I haven't heard from any of them?"

"Because I kept them away."

"What? Why?" Jim sat back, crossing his arms over his chest, a frown marring his features.

But he was still adorable and Leo leant forward and kissed him.

"You needed to heal up."

"And we agreed with him," Minnie piped up as she walked through the living room carrying a basket of folded laundry.

"You're supposed to be on my side!" Jim called after her retreating back.

Minnie just laughed but didn't stop.

"Seriously, Bones. I thought everyone was pissed at me," Jim said, voice hesitant.

"Everyone's been checking on you. They all would have already piled up on the porch if it hadn't been for Scotty's ability to obscure our location."

"Really? What'd he do?"

Leo shrugged. "I don't have a clue, but I do know that Nyota thought we were in a cabin in the Rockies and Sulu thought we were in Los Cabos. I think Carol was certain we were in Hawaii."

Jim chuckled. "Scotty's amazing." Then he frowned at Leo. "But I want to talk to them, Bones."

Leo nodded. "I guess that'd be alright now. You're so much better, kid. Do you even remember how sick you were when we first arrived?"

Nan set a tray of cookies and lemonade down on the coffee table, then she pressed her palm to Jim's knee. "We were all worried about you, James. You were very sick."

"I-I-I am sorry, ma'am." Jim apologized.

She patted his knee, then dropped a kiss to Jim's cheek. "You're better now, out of the woods. Feel free to invite anyone over you want, m'dear."

His nan gave Leo a fond smile and then she left them alone, but Jim had grown subdued, uncertain. Something he hadn't been since they'd worked through their lingering issues.

"Jim?" Leo asked, turning so he could more fully study Jim's face.

"Bones, did... did anyone _else_ check up on me?" The mingled hope and fear on Jim's face nearly tore Leo apart.

But this time he could fix this, or he thought he could. "Yeah, Jim. It wasn't just the crew or friends from the academy." Those words had Jim perking up instantly. "I've talked to Sam and Aurelan about four or five times. Sam was ready to give up his post on Deneva if you needed him here."

Jim's eyes were bright, a sheen of tears appearing.

Leo continued, "But I convinced him not to do anything so rash. Seems like you Kirks are prone to leaping without looking."

Jim swallowed, was gearing himself up for the big question, but Leo stopped him. He pressed a kiss to Jim's lips, then murmured, "Took her nearly eight weeks to get home, Jim, and wild horses couldn't have stopped her from swooping down on us here, 'cept Nan talked to her. They really hit it off. And, well, she's waiting for you to be strong enough to come visit her. Back in Iowa."

Jim's eyes went comically wide and he shook his head. "You let your nan and my mom talk? What were you thinking?"

Leo shrugged. "That I'd do anything for you, kid. And so would damn near everyone that's ever met you."

"She's home? Back in Riverside?"

"She is. Been there a couple of weeks, I reckon. Last time I talked to her, she said the place was a disaster, so I bet she's been working non-stop getting it ready. If you want to go."

"Will you come with me?" Jim asked softly.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, darlin'," Leo replied, pulling Jim into his arms and kissing him tenderly.

The End


End file.
